To facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments, economical short forms of the Classroom Environment Scale, Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire, and My Class Inventory were developed. Each instrument contains only 25 items and is amenable to easy hand scoring. Developmental procedures, reliability, validity, and…

Despite a strong tradition of research and practical applications involving perceptions of psychosocial environment in elementary and secondary science classes, surprisingly little analogous work has been conducted at the tertiary level. Consequently, in order to facilitate such work, a new instrument called the College and University Classroom…

Describes the development of a questionnaire that measures teachers' perceptions of eight aspects of a school environment. Discusses the theory base and predecessors of this instrument, the criteria and process used to develop it, its validation, and its application so far. The 56 questionnaire items are appended. (MCG)

In this monograph, an overview of research on learning environments in science classrooms is provided. Various forms of classroom research are compared, including student perceptions, direct observation, case studies, and combinations of ethnographic and student perception methodologies. Included are: (1) "Background," including…

This study used data collected during 1981-82 from a random sample of 1,960 9-year-old students from 124 elementary schools involved in a national assessment of educational progress in science. The database was used in secondary analyses which probed the validity of a model of educational productivity involving a set of nine aptitudinal,…

Examined were sex differences and the role of socioeconomic status in science achievement in Western Australian coeducational and single-sex schools. The influence of independent schools, both single-sex and coeducational, was found to be a factor that improved student science achievement for both boys and girls. (CW)

Described are the rationale, methodology, and findings of seven case studies designed to investigate the teaching and learning strategies employed in science classes by exemplary teachers. Findings focused on management strategies, student understanding, student participation, and classroom environment. (CW)

Large scale assessments of educational progress can be useful tools to judge the effectiveness of educational programs and assessments. This document contains papers presented at the research seminar on this topic held at the Western Australian Institute of Technology in November, 1984. It is the fifth in a series of publications of papers…

Considers curriculum evaluation studies in which perceived classroom environment characteristics were included among criteria of curricular effectiveness. Also reports several investigations in differences between students and teachers in their perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environments and draws together a diverse set of studies…

Economical, short forms of three measures were developed to facilitate science teachers' use of classroom climate assessments. The Classroom Environment Scale (CES) is a 24-item measure requiring a true or false response for each item. The My Class Inventory (MCI) is a 25-item measure requiring a yes or no response for each item. The…

This study was designed to compare the psychosocial environments of different types of schools (primary, high schools, district schools, and secondary colleges). The Moos's Work Environment Scale (WES) was administered to teachers from government and non-government schools in Tasmania. The WES focused on the dimensions of involvement, work…

This paper provides a focus on the successful and positive facets of schooling from a series of case studies. The study involved 13 researchers in over 500 hours of intensive classroom observation of 20 exemplary teachers and a comparison group of non-exemplary teachers. The qualitative information was complemented by quantitative information…